Morning arrival at the Bamako International airport. Transfer to Hotel Tamana.

Day 2: Bamako - Mopti

We will leave Mopti in the morning (8 hours by car). Check into Hotel Y a pas de probleme.

Day 3: Mopti - Dogon Country

Mopti, located at the confluence of the Niger and Bani rivers, has a lively port where river boats loaded with all kinds of products continually arrive and depart. We will visit the workshops where the long wooden boats (pinasses) are built and repaired.

We will also visit the artisans market and Komoguel, the old city, where the Sougouni Market and Great Mosque dating from 1935 are located.

We will take a pinasse boat ride along the banks of the Niger river.

Afterwards, we will depart towards Sanga to spend the night in Hotel Le Campement.

Day 4: Dogon Region

We shall visit Sanga, Banani, Ireli, Amani, and Tereli. Journey will be done by 4 wheel car and trekking.

We will explore the spectacular countryside of the Bandiagara escarpement. We will visit the Dogon villages inhabited since the XIVth century where this unique culture has been preserved thanks to the oral traditions of their people and little outside influence.

We will see Dogon houses whose wooden doors and windows contain symbolic sculptures. Their multiple rooms are arranged around a central courtyard where daily tasks take place. Men and women keep their wealth in separate granaries, mud buildings having thatched conical roofs.

Other typical village buildings include: the "house for speech or debate" (the toguna) built with a low ceiling so that calm discussions are encouraged, place where the elders meet to make decisions affecting the village; the "house for menstruating women", where women live during their menstrual period; the "house of the Tellems", houses of the former inhabitants, constructed on the face of the cliff and used today as burial sites andthe house of the hogon, the tribal chief in charge of transmitting his knowledge to his successor.

For the night, we camp in Yenndouma, to enjoy the stars.

Day 5: Dogon Country – Timbuktu

In the morning we depart towards Timbuktu, stopping in Douentza for lunch. The journey lasts approximately 6 hours.

Arriving at Timbuktu, we will stay at Hotel La Colombe.

Day 6: Timbuktu

We will visit Timbuktu, legendary and mythical city, known the world over for its splendid past and for many years accessible only to Muslims.

This city, located at the edge of the Sahara Desert and designated as a UNESCO protected site, has long been a market place for merchants dealing in salt and gold.

Places to visit include: The Djingareiber Mosque, Ahmed Baba Cultural Centre, the houses of early explorers, the city wall, the Tuareg Museum and craft market, the Sankore Mosque, the first Islamic university and the Sidi Yahia Mosque.

We will have lunch at the hotel and then take a camel ride to a Touareg encampment.

Spend the night in the hotel or camp in the desert.

Day 7: Timbuktu – Djenné

Departure towards Djenné, some 8 hours ride.

Checking in Hotel Le Maafir.

Day 8: Djenné – Ségou

City of unique adobe architecture boasting the largest adobe Mosque in the world, the Komboro Mosque, built at the end of the thirteenth century by King Koy Komboro, and rebuilt in 1905. At the back of the Mosque is the grave of Tapama Djenepo, young girl sacrificed for the prosperity of the city.

Places of particular interés that are worth to visit: the Komboro Mosque, Tapama Djenepo’s grave, the Great Market, the Koranic schools, the archeological site of Djenné Djeno, and the Cultural Mission Museum.

In the afternoon, we depart towards Ségou, a 4 hours ride. Check in at Hotel L’Esplanade.

Day 9: Ségou – Bamako

We shall visit the former capital of the Bambaro Kingdom, a quiet city, that invites to stroll along the Niger River under the shade of the balanzanes or “butter trees” so abundant in this area. Adobe houses alternate with colonial style buildings.

We will get to know the market and get acquainted with the making of Bambara pottery and of the bogolán (colored cotton fabric of exquisite design made with a combination of natural dyes and different colours of mud).

Later on, we will depart towards Bamako, a 3 hours ride. Check in at Hotel Tamana.

While in Bamako we will visit the Great Market, the crafts market, the market of traditional medicine or fetishes, and the Medina market, where we will see how are made the tools for agriculture.

Evening, transfer to airport for return flight.

This trip includes:

-Seven nights of hotel lodging, including room use prior to departure flight, and one night of camping.

-Breakfast each day. In the Dogon Country, lunch and dinner are also included (drinks are excluded with the exception of bottled water).

-Travel by all terrain vehicle with air-conditioned system (including driver and gas).

-Experienced guide for all visits.

-Excursion in a pinasse.

-Airport to hotel and hotel to airport transfers.

-Hotel and local visitor taxes.

What is not included: international flights, visa, non-specified meals, drinks, tips and personal expenses.

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